The Wizards of Once

Having triumphantly signed off on her excellent How-to Train your Dragon stories, Cressida Cowell now brings all her trademark wild energy to the start of what promises to be an equally successful new series. Magic still abounds, but this time the setting is the Sussex Downs at a mythical time when Warriors and Wizards maintain an uneasy peace following years of mutual attritional violence. Enter therefore Xar, a quite extraordinarily stupid wizard child expert at putting himself and his long-suffering followers into one dangerous situation after another. On the other side, the young warrior girl Wish is equally daring and disobedient, and when they inevitably meet there are sparks galore. As before, an adventurous narrative is enhanced by the author’s numerous cartoon-gothic black and white pictures, sometimes taking up a two page spread and always adding to the fun. Different fonts are pressed into service throughout with the whole project a marvel of imaginative energy and comic gusto. There is no-one else quite like this author for generating unreserved pleasure for her readers on every page; catch her while you can.